Javier Assad twirls gem as he makes case to stick in Cubs’ rotation
Javier Assad went under the radar all offseason and throughout spring when it came to the Cubs’ pitching picture.
Assad’s name wasn’t the first to come up when talking rotation options and it seemed a swingman role would be the most likely outcome entering the season.
Tuesday night, he showcased how much of an impact he can be to the Cubs’ pitching corps.
The righty turned in a quality start, pitching 6 shutout innings in the Cubs’ 12-2 win over the Rockies at Wrigley Field. It’s the second straight quality start by a Cubs pitcher, following Shota Imanaga’s gem in the home opener on Monday.
“Yeah, it was just a well-pitched game from Javi, for sure,” manager Craig Counsell said after the game. “Kept the pitch count under control and to get two straight, 6-inning starts, obviously it’s gonna help your bullpen.”
Back-to-back quality starts at Wrigley! pic.twitter.com/ZfKnZoOhtd
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) April 3, 2024
Assad has never been the flashiest pitcher — he won’t be blowing hitters away with high octane stuff, but he could be one of the most cerebral in a rotation full of them.
“He’s a guy capable of making pitches,” Counsell said before the game. “The other skill I think he’s really good at is I think he’s capable of reading swings during an at-bat and understanding what’s going on pitch-to-pitch during an at-bat. And that leads to really quick adjustments.
“That leads to him keeping hitters on the defense almost and staying a little bit ahead of hitters.”
It’s what he did Tuesday.
After a bunt single against the shift by Charlie Blackmon to open the game, Assad hunkered down and induced a flyball double play and struck out Nolan Jones to stymie any threat.
In the 2nd inning, after hitting Kris Bryant to open the frame and walking Ryan McMahon, Assad struck out Elias Díaz, produced a flyout to center from Ezequiel Tovar and a ground out from Michael Toglia to crush the rally.
He killed another threat in his final frame of work, too. Blackmon doubled to lead off the 6th and Assad induced a soft popout to second, a strikeout and a nice play from Nick Madrigal at third base to end the frame.
“You try to stay controlled like other situations,” Assad said. “Calm the emotions, execute pitch by pitch. Thanks to God, things worked out. There were runners on base a couple of times and I stayed in my mechanics and my pitches and thanks to god we controlled that.”
It’s that ability to stay in the moment and unfazed that has allowed Assad to have success in his big-league career. In 153 innings in the majors, Assad has a paltry 2.94 ERA and 1.27 WHIP. He’s proven to be a more-than-dependable piece to the Cubs pitching staff.
“That’s where the poise and he feels older than he is, feels more experienced than he is,” Counsell said. “The pitch-maker in him comes out and he has a lot of confidence in that. He delivered with that and it was kind of a prime example.”
While the Cubs have seen injuries strike the front two members of their rotation, it’s pitchers like Assad that are going to be paramount to their success this season. Injuries are a part of the natural process of a baseball season and being able to call upon a young arm to deliver to step in without skipping a beat will be a welcome to the Cubs this season.
“We have to figure it out,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Monday. “No one’s gonna feel sorry for us. You do need depth. We didn’t hope to be tested this early, but we are going to be. Some guys are going to have to step up.”